North Korea says to take "corresponding measures" if United Nations adopts sanctions

North Korea says to take "corresponding measures" if United Nations adopts sanctions

GETTYChina’s trade with North Korea rose by more than 10 per cent in the first half of the year

Melinda Barton
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18 July, 2017, 08:53

The United Nations Security Council is considering imposing more sanctions against North Korea after the country launched an intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this month. Trump has urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to use China's economic dominance to sway North Korea on nuclear testing. Washington has already frozen the assets of two Chinese nationals and a shipping company for their ties to the regime, while accusing a regional Chinese bank of laundering money for Pyongyang. "If not, we will solve the problem without them!"

Mr Huang said yesterday that total trade rose 10.5 per cent to US$2.55 billion in the first six months of this year compared with the same period a year ago.

But the overall picture suggests that North Korea is buying increasing amounts of products from China.

As North Korea declared that it would not participate in talks on denuclearization, it has become even more hard to determine whether it will conduct another nuclear test. Analysts assume that as North Korea has been testing missile launches disguised as satellite launches, it is likely that another nuclear test will follow the ICBM launch.

A recent poll released by a South Korean government-backed institute said that around 50 percent of North Korean defectors living in the country claimed to have experienced discrimination due to their background. The North is already accelerating its development of nuclear weapons despite universal opposition from the global community, and disagreements among UNSC member countries gives North Korea more time to further develop its nuclear capabilities. "So much for China working with us - but we had to give it a try!"

Providing China with strong incentives to curb North Korea is a not a substitute for direct talks, which you favor.

"We only have friend countries, there is no enemy country for us", Min Aung Hlaing was quoted as saying, adding that he wished to see a nuclear-free Korean peninsula and have good relations with militaries all over the world.

South Korea did not sign onto the 1953 cease fire armistice agreement with the People's Republic of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and the United Nations that established a demilitarized zone separated at the 38th parallel.

The reason cited for the revisions was that the United States has experienced a persistent trade deficit in goods trade with South Korea.

It was unclear how North Korea will react since it remains suspicious of new South Korean President Moon Jae-in's outreach to it. The current proposals would not impact larger Chinese banks.

Tensions between the United States and China worsened after Pyongyang's recent Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile test, which it said was capable of striking Alaska.

"They are not very specific from the very beginning but we understand he is the special envoy on North Korea", Kyaw Zeya toldReuters.

"The Philippines has the diplomatic stature to do that", the South Korean official said.